Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has gently nudged his Republican counterparts in the House of Representatives to pump the brakes on chatter of impeaching President Biden.
“I said two years ago, when we had not one but two impeachments, that once we go down this path it incentivizes the other side to do the same thing,” McConnell told the New York Times in an interview published Tuesday.
“Impeachment ought to be rare,” he added. “This is not good for the country.”
A growing number of House Republicans have called for Biden’s impeachment, with most of them citing the border crisis and his involvement in influence-peddling by his son Hunter.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called Monday night for the president to “give us his bank statements” to prove he did not profit from his offspring’s endeavors.
“I think there’s enough proof out there that this Biden family needs to come forward and show there wasn’t a pay-to-play,” McCarthy told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Other members of the House GOP caucus have gone even further than their leader.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) unsuccessfully pushed to impeach Biden over the border situation in June. The move prompted fellow firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to call her a “little b—h” and accuse her of copying articles put forward by Greene.
Thus far, none of these efforts have gained enough traction to put Biden in serious jeopardy, though the White House is not taking the threat lying down.
“Instead of pursuing this shameless and baseless impeachment stunt, House Republicans and Speaker McCarthy should join the president to work on continuing to bring down inflation and lower costs, create jobs, and grow the economy,” spokesman Ian Sams said in a statement obtained by The Post.
There have only been four presidential impeachments in the 247-year history of the US — three of which took place within the past 24 years.
Moreover, two of the past five presidents have been impeached — former President Bill Clinton and former President Donald Trump, who faced it twice.
Prior to that, former President Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868. In all cases, the presidents were acquitted.
The often quiet-spoken and at times enigmatic McConnell has not always been in sync with his House GOP counterparts.
Last year, for instance, he enabled passage of a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package, much to the chagrin of lower chamber Republicans who wanted to use a potential government shutdown as leverage for fiscal concessions.
McConnell recently shocked political observers when he froze up mid-sentence during a press conference late last month.
Earlier this weekend, the 81-year-old faced calls to “retire” during an event in his home state.